Nail making and driving machine.



PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1900.

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N0 MODEL.

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No. 745,867. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1'23. 27. 1900.

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W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE APPLICATION IIIJED FEB. 27, 1900 N0 MODEL. 12 SHBETSSHEET 3.

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PATENTBD DEG. 1,1903. W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900.

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NO MODEL.

WITHESEEEH PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903 W. H. LANG. NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900.

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NO MODEL.

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PATBNTED DEC. 1, 1903.

W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

PLIOATION FILED P 2M 1 v A Q E H S T E E H s 2 1 No. 745,867. IATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

W. H. LANG. NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

l2 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

APPLIOATION rum) FEB. 27. 1900.

NO MODEL.

No. 745,867. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903. W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900.

NO MODEL. 12 SHEETS-SHEET 9.

- VIII/177777717722 WITPIEEEEEM l W a; WQWW Flgll 7 {IL/27 PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903 W. H. LANG. NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900.

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N0 MODEL.

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PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

w. H. LANG. NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 11.

N0 MODEL.

owls vzrzns co. Puma-urn No. 745,867. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

W. H. LANG.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. 1900. w N0 MODEL. 12 SHEETS-SHBET 12.

/I/ ll I No. 745,867.

UNITED STATES Fatented December 1, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. LANG, OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO THE SUFFOLK NAILING MACHINE COMPANY OF PORTLAND, MAINE, OF BURLINGTONVERIVIONT, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

NAIL MAKING AND DRIVING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,867, dated December 1, 1903.

' Application filed February 27, 1900. Serial No. 6,660. (No model.)

To (Z5 whmn it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. LANG, a citi- Zen of the United States,and aresident of Burlington, in the county of Ohittenden and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nail Making and Driving Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature.

My invention relates to that class of nailing-machines ,in which the nail is made and cut from a continuous strip of wire carried by the machine and is then driven into the article to be nailed, which is suitably supported for the purpose and is fed automatically after each nailing operation.

My invention is an improvement upon the machine described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 566,359, granted to IVeeks and-Tuttle August 25, 189 6, the improvements relating mainlyto the details of construction of certain portions of that machine whereby the shape of the nail is improved materially and the means for handling it are also made more eifective.

I have shown my invention applied to shoework, for it is especially adapted for that purpose.

lIIy invention will be understood by reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a machine embodying my present invention, Fig. 2 being a side elevation of the head carrying the nail making and driving mechanism, this view being taken from the other side of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the head. Fig. 4 is an enlargement of a portion of the head, taken from the side shown in Fig. 1, said view being partly in section. Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a view taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. '7 is a section on line '7 7 of Fig. 6, showing the clutch mechanism, Fig. 8 being a similarview, the parts being in different position. Fig. 9 is adetail in perspective, showing the cutter mechanism. Fig. 10 is a plan of the nail-carriage. Fig. 11 is a section on line 11 of Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a section on line 12 '12 of Fig.

10. 13 is a section on line 13 13 of Fig. 10. Figs. 14 and 15 relate to the shoe-feeding mechanism, Fig. 14 being a section on line 14 14 of Fig. 15, and Fig. 15 a section on line 15 15 of Fig. 14. Figs. 16 to 21 represent the different steps in a nail-cutting operation, the views being arranged upon the sheet diagrammaticallyto indicatethe amount of vertical movement of the feed and also the amount and character of horizontal movement of the nails. Fig. 22 is a vertical section of the standard or post which supports the head, showing the interior construction thereof. Fig. 22 is a detail of c, Fig. 2. Fig. 23 is an enlarged sectional view looking down into the post and showing a portion of the mechanism for controlling-the length of the wire-feed from the horn which supports the shoe. Figs. 24 and 25 are sectional details showing the arrangement of the slicing-knife whereby it may be adjusted to compensate for wear both at its point and its slide. Fig. 26 is a plan view of the shoe-feeding mechanism.

A represents the standard or post which supports the head A, carrying the cam-shaft B and the parts operated thereby to feed the wire, form the nail, and drive it.

My machine may be better understood by first considering the work which it is to do. For this purpose brief reference is had to Figs 16 to 21, inclusive. IVhile the necessities of drafting require that these views be placed side by side, they maybe considered as superimposed, the wire in each case remaining in the same vertical line. The difference between the position of the point of the wire in Fig. 16 and its position in Fig. 17 indicates approximately the length of vertical feed given to the wire, and the difference between the level of the upper end of the wire in Fig. 17 and of the upper end of the wire in Fig. 18 indicates the amount of wire upset into the head. The lateral distance between the wire in Fig. 21, and the finished nail represents approximately the lateral movement given to the nail after it has been cut from the wire and is moved under the driver. Fig. 16 represents a wire Z from which a nail has just been cut, showing also that the narrow ing and pointing of the wire to form the point of the nail to be made has already taken place, as at Z. The wire is first fed downward from the position shown in Fig. 16 to the position shown in Fig. 1'7. The next step is the forming of the head Z as shown in Fig. 18; next, the narrowing of the point Z for the next nail, as shown in Fig. 19; next, the cutting off of the nail Z thus shaping the point, as shown in Fig. 20, and leaving the wire in the position shown in Fig. 16 ready to be fed again, and, next, Fig. 21, the carrying of the nail which has been cut off into position under the driver, where Z indicates the wire from which the nail has been cut, in position to be fed vertically to make the next nail, and Z the nail which has been cut from it and has been carried into position under driver. These various steps being indicated, the mechanisms for carrying them out will now be described.

Upon the frame A there is carried an arm A upon which is mounted a reel A having upon it the supply of wire, this mechanism and its mounting being substantially that of the eeks and Tuttle patent above referred to, and hence not needing any further descrip tion. From this reel A the wire Z is carried down through an eye in a boss a and through a second eye or passage a in the piece (Z and between a tension-roll c and the feed-roll c, which is operated in a manner now to be described to move the wire from which the nail has been out (see Fig. 16) into the position shown in Fig. 17.

C is the feed-cam, mounted on the camshaft B. On the frame A of the machine is a housing 0, containing a slideway in which is mounted a slide 0, carrying a cam-pin c, which bears against the front edge of the cam G and. is held against it by the spring 0 lying in the housing below the slide 0, so that it will be compressed during the forward move ment of the slide and in expanding will force the slide rearward, so that the cam-pin 0 will remain in contact with the cam-surface unless it is stopped by some obstruction. This slide also carries an eye 0 by means of which and a link 0 it is connected with a disk o on the shaft 0 The disk 0 is loose on the shaft and may be connected with the shaft 0 in any suitable manner-as, for example, by a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism (see Fig. 22)- whereby the forward movement of the slide will give a rotary movement to the shaft 0 while the rearward movement of the slide will have no effect upon the shaft. The shaft 0 passes through bearings in the frame and at its farther end carries the feed-roll o c being a tension-roll opposite the feed-r0110 and adapted to hold the wire Z in contact with it. For this purpose it should be provided with suitable devices for adjusting its position in relation to the feed-roll so as to force the wire against the feed-roll.

The adjusting devices shown in the drawings are as follows: The roll 0 is carried by the lower end of a plate 0 pivoted to the frame A at 0. Upon the frame is a boss 0 carrying a screw o one end of which bears against the upper end of the plate 0 The position of this screw 0 determines generally the position of the lower end of the plate 0 and hence the position of the tension-roll 0 with relation to the feed-roll 0 In addition, as it is desirable that the tension-roll shall hold the wire against the feed-roll with a yielding contact I prefer to split the upper end of the plate 0 into two parts 0 and 0 the thin part 0 forming a spring and bearing against one end of the screw 0, the other part 0 carrying a spreading or cam lever c, pivoted therein, adapted to separate the parts 0 and c"',whereby when in the position shown in Fig. 4 the tension-roll c will clamp the wire against the feed-roll c. \Vhen it is desired to withdraw thetension-roll c -for example, when fresh wire is to be inserted the lever c is moved so that its short bearing end will release the pressure upon the piece 0 thus releasing the pressure of the roll 0 upon the feed-roll c sufficiently to allow the wire Z to reeve freely between the rolls. By this means also the feed is adjusted to different sizes of wire. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that the cam O is so shaped as to give the slide 0 a long dwell in its forward position and a quick retreat; but as it is manifest that the feed must be adjusted to correspond with the desired length of the nail means for adjustment have been provided, which are referred to below. This method of adjustment I believe to be new.

In feeding the wire from the position shown in Fig. 16 to the position shown in Fig. 17 it is carried down into a pair of dies 7L8 7L8, (shown in Figs. 10 to 13,) mounted in the carriage h, the space at the upper end of the dies being slightly enlarged, as there shown, to shape the head of the nail. \Vhen the wire has been pushed into this die by the feed mechanism,it is seized by a gripping and heading mechanism, which will now be described.

Upon the inner face of the wheel I) is a cam-groove,in which works a cam-pin mounted on the end of a lever (Z, pivoted to the frame at d. The lower end of this lever is connected by a link (1 to the connecting-pin (Z of a small pair of togglefarms d d, the upper end of the toggle-arm cZ' being pivoted in the block (1, adjustably connected to a piece (Z which projects laterally from the upper end of the slide 6'. The lower end of the toggle d is pivoted to a link (Z which is pivoted to a rocking jaw (2", which rocks upon the pin d carried by a second jaw member e. These jaws have two movements: First, the movand using up an amount of wire represented by the difference in level between the upper end of the wire in Fig. 18 and the upper end of the wire in Fig. 17. After this the jaws open to allow the slicer f to cooperate with the jaw e, as below described, and after the slicer has withdrawn the jaws move upward, so as to be in position to head the next nail. The downward movement referred to is given from the cam E, against the face of which runs a cam-roll on the lower end of a swinging arm 6 pivoted to the frame at 6 A link a connects the arm c with the connectingpivot e of the toggle-arms 6 e The upper toggle-arm e is pivoted to an adjustable block 6 connected to the frame. The lower toggle e is connected with the jaw member 6 by means of the slide e, which carries the jaw c at its lower end. The cam E acts against the force of a spring 6 the end of which is fast to the box f the free end bearing upon the slide 6. To the upper end of the slide 6 is attached the piece (1 to the lower end of which the toggle system operating the movable jaw d" is attached, some such arrangement being necessary in order that both jaws may reciprocate to upset the metal to form the nail-head.

The next operation in the treatment of the wire is the cutting off of a slice above the formed head to narrow the shank, so that the point for the next nail may be made, the wire after the slicing operation being in the condition shown in Fig. 19. This operation is performed from the cam F, in the groove of which runs a cam-roll mounted on the lever f, fulcrumed on the frame at f. The lower end of this lever is connected by alinkf to a slide f, which lies on the clamp-slidej below the block f. The slide f is recessed along one side, (see Fig. 2l,) and in that recess lies the knife f which is formed with a groove on one side to receive a rib on the side of the slidef the rear end of the knife lying against a setscrew fflwhich passes through the rear of the slide f The knife f and slide f reciprocate together between adjustable plates f f the platef being held in place by means of the pin f, projecting from the frame, and the piece f being held in place by a recess in the plate f attached to the side of the block f. It is necessary for the proper operation of this knife that its reciprocation should be in line with the front of the stationary jaw e. The wire lies in the groove e in this jaw during the slicing operation, and it is equally necessary that the knife shall be carefully adjusted to slide in engagement with the entrance to the said groove. This adjustment is caused by placing one or more strips of paper f or other suitable material behind the plate f then to setting up the screws f f so that the knife f will bear against the plate f and the plate f will have a bearing against the side of the slide f thus forming a close passage in which these parts move. In this way the position of the knife may be adj usted to purpose the wheel D has a cam-surface about its periphery which engages a cam-roll G, mounted on a slide g, sliding in front of the machine behind the strap 9. This slide g is pivoted to the central pivot of the two togglearms g g (See Fig. 9.) One of these toggle-arms g is connected to athree-sided frame g and the other to a three-sided frame 9 each frame sliding in suitable bearings in the head A, and the two frames forming substantially a rectangle one of the sides of each of which overlaps the other where the frame is connected to the toggle-arms, the opposing sides carrying the cutters g 9 Springs g g are provided, which bear against portions of the frame and tend to separate these frames, while the spring g keeps the cam-roll G against the periphery of the wheel D. The cutter g is slotted at 9 and through the slot passes the driver it. The cutting edges of both outters are beveled, so that in cutting they squeeze and temper the end of the nail and form a V-shaped point thereto, as well as to detach the nail from the wire, and this is an important feature of my invention, for where anail of this general shape has heretofore been made it has not been provided with a point, hardened and beveled on one or both sides, as may be desired, to govern driving and clenching. The nails made prior to this invention have been apt to drive crooked because of the pressure of the leather against their long beveled sides. As shown in the drawings, the cutter g has a V-shaped edge and the cutter g a chisel ed ge2'. e., an edge beveled only on its upper side. The movement given to the cutters should be sufficient to allow them to come together when they perform the cutting operation, and their reverse motion should be sufficient only to allow them to open out of the way of the heading mechanism. In coming together those parts of the cutters which are above the cutting edge pinch the point, so as to harden it for the purpose described, and by changing the knives or adjusting them in their holdingframe the shape of the nailpoint can be changed and its direction with relation to the axis or central line of the wire and also be controlled, so that the exact direction in which the nail will pass through the leather can be to a very large extent predetermined. So far as I know, this has never before been accomplished and is an important feature of my invention. This completes the operations indicated in Fig. 20. .The carriage holding the nail-dies must then be reciprocated to carry the nail from a position under thewire to the position under the driver, as indicated in Fig. 21. It is given a reciprocating movement from the cam H, in the groove of which lies a cam-roll mounted on the end of a horizontal rocker-arm h. A vertical rockshaft 7&2 passes down through the head and carries on its lower end an arm 71, the

outer end of which is bent somewhat downward, so that its end it will lie in a box 76', held to the carriage h by two projecting pieces 71? 7L7. The carriage 7L6 slides in suitable bearings in the base of the machine and crosswise of the machine. It contains the dies it 713, each of which is mounted in a jaw h, the jaws being held together by springs 71 The strength of these springs is sufficient to hold the severed nail in place in the die, but not so strong that the fresh wire when fed down will not force its way between them. Below the dies are located a pair of spring-jaws h to center the lower end of the nail. These jaws are slitted lengthwise or made in two pairs, so as to hold the point of a short nail or a long one, whichever the machine is making. It is, in fact, one of the novel features of this machine, as will be more fully explained below, that in it the nail is held positively from the moment when it is detached from the wire to the moment when it enters the shoe-sole or other part into which it is to be driven. It is thus always under control and has not the op portunity to turn either on its longitudinal axis or otherwise during its course from under the wire to the work.

A clamping mechanism is provided to clamp the dies in the carriage during the heading operation. This clamping mechanism is operated from the cam J by means of the lever j, fulcrumed in the frame at j and connected at its lower end with the clamp-slide 7' the end of which, j at the proper time abuts against the inner jaw on the carriage and clamps it while the head-forming mechanism is making the head. This clamp-slide also serves as the bottom of the passage in which the knife f and its slide f reciprocate. The movement given to the clamp-slide j is very small.

To save time in the operation of the machine, the carriage is slotted at 71, so that it may be moving laterally while the driver is ascending.

The driver is mounted on the end of a driver-rod 7t, controlled by a spring in the manner referred to in the lVeeks and Tuttle patent and is raised bymeans of the cam K, which engages with a projection k on the driver-rod is, raising it against the force of the springand letting it fall at the proper time. The driver therefore is raised slowly and falls by the force of the spring W. R is the nozzle, which holds the nail and through which the lower end of the driver reciprocates and against which the shoe is held.

My machine may be a constantly-running machine, or it may be operated with a clutch to give it a single rotation merely, as preferred. I have shown in the drawings the clutch mechanism which I prefer to use and which will now be described.

B is a pulley'connected with the source of power. This pulley is free to turn on the camshaft B and has a projection 19 upon its inner face. form the temporary connection between the pulley B and the cam-shaft B, I have provided a latch I), mounted in a sleeve Z1 fast on the shaft B to slide toward and from the inner face of the pulley B. A spring b also carried by said sleeve, engages a pin l), which passes through the latch l) and tends to throw the latch 1) into engagement with the projection Z). (See Fig. 8.) ,lVhen the latch and projection are engaged, the pulley B causes the rotation of the cam-shaft B. To withdraw the latch and lock it out of engagement with the projection b, I have provided a segmental wedge-piece I), mounted on an arm I), carried by a stud b on the head A. The latch b is provided with a wedgelike shoulder 12 located to ride upon the wedgepiece If as the cam-shaft carrying the latch rotates, and thus withdraw the latch from engagement with the projection 1) against the force of the spring b (see Fig. 7 and thus disconnect the cam-shaft from the source of power.

To release the latch b, so that the spring 6 will cause it to engage the projection l) on the pulley B, the wedge-piece b is withdrawn, and for this purpose there is provided a treadle b connected by a connecting-rod Z)" with a lever b pivoted to the frame. The inner end of this lever is connected by a link I) with a slide 1), sliding in ways I)" in the frame, and connected by a link U with the wedge-piece b A spring I), lying between the lower edge of this slide and a projection Z2 from the post, holds the slide and consequently the wed ge-piece up to its work. The wedge-piece may be withdrawn therefrom by depressing the treadle b and the spring Z) will force it back into position to engage and withdraw the latch when one revolution of the cam-shaft has taken place.

The above describes a machine which can be adjusted to perform all the necessary operations of feeding the wire and making, cutting, and driving the nail; but in addition the machine shown in the drawings has means for feeding the shoe and for altering the wirefeed automatically to meet the ordinary variations in the thickness of the stock through which the nail is to be driven, so that the feed will conform to the requirements of the work. This latter mechanism will now be described.

The shoe is supported against the driver nozzle or throat R upon a horn m, carried by an arm m on a post m sliding in bearings A in the standard A. (See Fig. 22.) On the To engage with this projection and post m is mounted an adjustable sleeve m, to which is pivotally connected a lever m. As a convenient means for attaching the lever m to the rod m I have shown a pair of fingers inf, which fit in a groove in a collar on, adj ustably carried by said rod m The lever m is connected by a stud m with a slide-piece m sliding in bearings A A in the frame. The lower part of this slide-piece m terminates in a, rod 112. surrounded by a spring 111, which is compressed between the bearing A and a collar m adjustable on the rod m this spring holding the slide-piece m and lever m up to their work with a yielding pressure.

m is a connecting-rod con neeting the slidepiece m with a treadle M, pivoted at m, by means of which the horn mechanism may be depressed in order that a shoe may be removed or a shoe to be nailed may be put in place. The lever m rests at its rear end upon a finger m bolted to the frame A, and it is held against this finger by means of a spring m The horn is then depressed for the purpose of changing the work by depressing the lever M; but it is necessary also that it shall have a slight reciprocating movement durin the operation of the'machine in order to relieve the shoe of pressure, so that it may be automatically fed by the feeding mechanism after a nail is driven. For this purpose there is provided a rod 71, which passes through the lever m and is provided on its lower side with a collar of andset-nut a This rod 11 passes up to and is connected with a cam-lever 11", having a cam-rolln running in a cam-groove in the wheel N on the cam-shaft, said cam-lever being pivotally mounted on the stud a (see Fig. 2,) the ends of which are supported in suitable bearings in the head A. This cam is constructed with a slight rise, and the rise is timed to lift the rear end of the lever m" against the force of the spring m, so as to depress the horn slightly just after the nail has been driven, at which instant the feed operates, as will be described below. For this purpose the stud m is made to serve as a fulcrum, about which the lever m turns, the lever in being clamped in the following manner: Ordinarily the stud m has a floating support due to the upward pressure of the spring m. To clamp it to form a fixed fulcrum, I have provided two trunnions -12, which are threaded and worked in nuts n, attached in openings in the standard A, the trunnions carrying arms n which are connected by links a with a sliding collar 01 on the rod a". Two adjustable collars n and n and a spiral spring 12 limit the movement of the collar n, and consequently of the trunnions n. The threads of the trunnions are right and left handed threads, the construction being such that as the rod n and consequently the arms a are lifted by the cam N the trunnions are screwed against the pin m and hold it tightly, so that it forms a proper fulcrum for the lever while the rear end of the lever m is being lifted by the red a and its collar of. This changing of the fulcrum takes place just prior to the engagement of the collar 02 and the lever m. The

lever is thus transformed into a lever of the first order. This, however, only takes place at the instant when the horn has withdrawn the shoe preparatory to the feed and during the feeding operation. At other times its fulcrum is on the finger on so that pressure on the treadle M may easily depress the horn.

To adjust the exactlength of the wire-feed, the following mechanism has been provided: It will be remembered that the length of this feed is dependent upon the length of stroke of the slide-piece c, which is thrown forward by the cam 0 against the force of the spring 0 It was stated above that the cam 0 gives the slide 0 a long dwell in its forward position, but a quick retreat. Upon the length of this retreat the length of the next forward stroke which performs the feeding operation depends. As a means for automatically determining the length of rearward movement of the feed-slide c, and hence of the amount of rotation given to the disk 0 shaft 0 and feed-roll a, mounted thereon, upon its next forward stroke, 1 have provided the feed-slide c with a slanting piece 0 which is located and adapted to engage with a triangular stop p. This stop 1) slides inaguide-piece 19, adjustably fastened to the frame at 19 the slide connection between the stop 1) and the guidepiece 19 being at an angle with the vertical line, so that as the stop 1) is moved up or down in the guide-piece p it will be moved farther away from or nearer to the tailpiece c and so govern the distance which the tailpiece, and consequently the slide, will be moved rearward by its spring 0 To operate the stop 19 automatically, it is connected to the horn carrying mechanism in the following manner: The stop 19 is mounted on the upper end of a rod 13 which passes downward into the standard A and is connected to one end of the lever p, fulcrumed in the standard. The other end of this lever is connected by a link 19 with the piece m on the post m Thus it'will be seen that every movement of the horn produces a corresponding movement of the stop 1), and the length of the rearward stroke of the slide 0 and of the amount of rotation given to the feed-roll c is consequently governed by the position of the horn.

For feeding the shoe mechanism is shown in detail in Figslet, l5, and Fig. 26. This mechanism consists of a swinging arm q, pivotally mounted in a slide Q, sliding in ways Q, mounted on the under si le of the plate R The pivot which connects the swinging arm with the slide Q also carries aroughened feedwheel q and a ratchet g operated by a pawl (1 carried by the swinging arm q, so that a rocking motion given to the arm q causes the feed-wheel q to rotate in a direction to feed the shoe, the return of the arm q having no further effect upon the feed wheel. As shown, the pawl g slides toward and from the ratchet in ways in the arm q, being held to the ratchet by asuitable spring. This construction will be understood from Fig. 26, in

IFO

head Q or other means for turning it.

which it is shown somewhat diagrammatically, but clearly enough, it is believed, to answer the purpose. This mechanismis well known and need not be further explained.

The arm q is grooved at g (see Fig. 4,) and in this groove runs a pin mounted on the end of an angle-arm 011 the lower end of the rock-shaft 7L2, which moves the nailing-carriage h, this rock-shaft and its cam H therefore serving not only to reciprocate the carriage, but alsoto feed the shoe. It will be noted that the movement of the rock-shaft k in a direction to cause the carriage to carry the nail to the driver produces no effect on the feed-wheel, while the movement of the rock-shaft to return the carriage under the wire causes the shoe-feed to operate. Thus the nail which is being driven and the surface of the shoe into which it is to be driven reach a position under the driver at the same instant. The slide Q has two racks Q each of which engages with a pinion Q mounted on a shaft Q having on its outer end a square By this means the position of the slide may be moved so as to govern the position of the feed-wheel q with relation to the throatpiece R and to determine the distance from the edge of the shoe-sole at which the nails are to be driven.

The throatpiece R, against which the work is pressed by the horn on, is set into the under side of the plate R which carries the feed-wheel slide This plate R has a groove R running the entire length of its upper side, and the opening in the throatpiece through which the nail and the driver it pass registers with a corresponding opening in the groove R One side of the throatpiece R is slotted to receive the latch R, and the plate R is slotted to correspond, so that the upper portion of the latch R, which is enlarged to form a head and provided with a rocking under surface 0*, will rest and rock upon the bottom of the groove B A bar 1' lies in one end of the groove R and its inner end where it comes in contact with the head 1' of the latch R is notched, as is also the. head of the latch R, these notches forming together the mouth of the opening into the throat-piece. This bar 1'' is held against the latch by springs 7 attached to the end of the plate R The head of the latch R is held against the bar 0" by means of the bar r in the other end of the groove R and the springs r A heavy spring r is attached to the under side of the plate R its free end bearing on the lower end of the latch R. The force of the springs r T and r pushes the latch R against the opposite side of the passage in the throatpiece, so as to close it except against the downward move ment of the nail and driver. Thus as the nail passes into it the latch R will yield slightly, pushing the nail against the opposite side of the passage and so insure the direct movement of the nail through the the throat, so that it always keeps its grip on the nail.

I have shown the horn m as supported on the end of the arm m I prefer to form the end of the arm on as an open clamp S, the ends of which are clamped about the bottom of the horn by the bolts S. The upper edge of the clamp is notched at S and pin S passing through the horn, rests in this notch and supports the horn and keeps it from turning. By this means the horn is held securely and at the same time may be released, so as to be swung out of the way in case it is desired to get at the under side of the throat-plate.

It is believed that the operation of the several parts of the machine will be understood from the foregoing description of its construction. The timing of the operation, however, is as follows: The cluteh normally releases the cam-shaft immediately after a nail has been driven, so that when the machine is in a state of rest the driver is down, the carriage is in its left-hand position, and the horn'still presses the work against the throatpiece. The treadle M may now be depressed in order that a shoe may be placed upon the horn m. This having been done, the treadle M is released and the operator puts his foot upon th e starting-treadle b, which withdraws the wedge -piece If, so that it releases the latch b and allows it to be in position to be struck by the projection Z) on the loose pulley B on its next rotation, thus engaging the cam-shaft. The stud m is bound by the trunnions 12, which are operated by the cam N and rod a. The continued upward movement of the rod n causes the collar 71 to engage with the lever m and lift it about the stud 711?, thus withdrawing the horn slightly and allowing the work to feed. It then rises and by relocating the wedge-stop 1) controls the amount of wire to be fed for the next nail. Vhile this operation has been taking place, the carriage from which a nail has just been driven is moved backward under the nail-making mechanism to receive the wire for the next nailing, forcing its way past the driver, which, when it drives the nail, passes between the dies h and now takes position in the opening h until it is lifted into position from which to drive the new nail. At the same time also the wheel q is rotated to feed the shoe. Vhile these movements are taking place, the driver lies in the slot 7b, which is sufficiently long to allow the carriage to reach the end of its movement without interfering with it. During this time also the horn has made its complete movement, releasing the shoe, and, after the feed, gripping the shoe again. hen the horn has returned, the driver begins to ascend, the wire-feed takes place, and immediately thereafter the nail-making operations, which are shown in Figs. 16 to 21, inclusive, take place, and the nail having been made and out off the carriage carries it under the throat-plate and at the same time the arm which moves the shoefeed moves into position to feed the shoe when the horn next releases it.' The driver then descends and drives the nail, and the clutch is disconnected, so that the machine stops unless the operator keeps his foot upon the treadle U", in which case the operation of the machine is continuous until the treadle is released and the wedgepiece U engages with the latch and releases the cam-shaft from the pulley, which always happens at the end of the driving operation.

In the construction of this machine I have preferred to use toggle movements in most instances to accomplish my results; but it is evident that other mechanical movements may be adopted instead to give the necessary operations to the various parts, and, moreover, while it is desirable that the cycle of operations be as suggested they maybe varied somewhat and the construction of parts by which the nail-making operations are performed may be varied somewhat without departing from the spirit of my invention. This is especially true of the fulcrum-stud 172", which may be clamped by cam-surfaces instead of the screws shown or by other means which will suggest themselves to mechanics, the important feature of this part of my invention being that the stud shall be gripped automatically by some instrumentality and released at the proper time. This machine is, in fact, so far as I know, the first machine in which the carriage which conveys the finished nail to the throat through which it is to be driven contains a pair of dies which receive that portion of the wire which is to form the head of the nail and assist in the formation of the nail head prior to the time when the nail itself is cut from the wire. The spring-jaws 7L serve to hold the lower portion of the wire, which has already been shaped to form the point of the nail, and it will be noted that in this machine the nail is held positively from the time it is cut from the wire until it has been driven into the shoe. It is held positively by the carriage during the cutting operation, its head being located in the dies it and its point in the jaws 7t, two pairs of which are provided to accommodate nails of different lengths, and from these dies and jaws the nail is driven by the driver through the throat-piece into and through which it forces its way against the force of the springs controlling the latch E. This is a very important feature of my machine, in fact of any machine by which a nail of the general class herein shown is driven, for when one side of a nail-point is beveled the nail is apt to be driven crooked unless a certain predetermined relation is established and maintained between the nail and those parts which handle and drive it.

I have shown in Fig. 22 a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism by which to operate the wire-feed.

The part which I have termed the disk is loose upon the shaft and has, in fact, a recessed enlargement t, in which are set four .pawls t, each controlled by a spring 6 to hold them against the ratchet The ratchet t is attached to a covering-disk t both of these parts being fast upon the shaft The link 0 being connected with a pin on the back of the disk 0*, so as to oscillate it in the direction of the arrow, causes the shaft 0 to turn, and consequently turns the feed-roll c. The reverse oscillation of the disk 0' has ofcourse no effect upon the shaft or feedroll. This is merely one of the number of ways in which this result may be accomplished.

Having fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. Ina nail-making machine in combination with nail-driving mechanism and a wire-feed,

a reciprocating carriage containing nail-headshaping dies suitably mounted therein and adapted to hold the wire blank, means for heading said blank and detaching the nail, operative while said blankisheld in said carriage, and means whereby said carriage is moved from a position under said heading mechanism to a position under the driving mechanism as set forth.

2. In combination with a wire-feed, yielding arms suitably mounted and carrying nail headshaping dies normally in contact and adapted to yield to receive the end of the wire during the nail-making operation and hold the nail when detached from the wire, means for heading the nail and detaching it from the wire and means whereby said yielding arms are clamped to hold the wire during said heading and detaching'operation, as and for the purposes set forth.

In a nailing-machine in combination with nail-driving mechanism and a wire-feed, a carriage containing yielding arms carrying nail-head-shaping dies normally in contact and adapted to yield to receive the end of the wire during the nail-making operation and hold the nail when detached therefrom, means for heading the nail and detaching it from the wire, means whereby said yielding arms are clamped to hold the wire during said heading and detaching operation and means for reciprocating the carriage to convey the detached nail under the driving mechanism, as set forth.

4. In a nailing-machine a driving mechanism, a wire-feed, a heading mechanism and a detaching mechanism, in combination with a carriage containing yielding arms normally in contact, said arms carrying head-shaping dies and means whereby said arms are clamped during the heading and detaching operation and released thereafter and said nail is conveyed under said driving mechanism, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a nailing-machine, a carriage having yielding arms carrying heading-dies adapted to receive and hold the nail-blank during the heading operation, and a pair of yielding arms located below said heading-dies and adapted to receive and hold the lower end of the nail and guide the point of the nail in its movement out from the carriage, as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In anail-driving machine in combination with a nail-driving mechanism, a reciprocating carriage containing heading-dies adapted to receive and hold the nail-blank end of the wire, means for pointing and heading the nail said heading means cooperating with said heading-dies and said carriage being adapted to carry the nail into position below the driver and guide it when struck by the driver and during its driving operation, all as set forth.

7. In a wire-nail making and driving machine a reciprocating carriage having nailforming yielding dies located therein and normally in contact whereby a detached nail may be held therein positively and means whereby said carriage is reciprocated from a nailmaking position to a nail-releasing position and means for driving said nail downward from between said dies substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In a nail making and driving machine in combination nail-making mechanism comprising heading, pointing and detaching devices, a nail-driving mechanism and a reciproeating carriage provided with yielding heading-dies forming part of said heading mechanism and adapted to receive and hold the nailblank end of the wire during the heading operation and to cooperate with the nail-detachin g mechanism during its detaching operation and to carry the detached nail under the driving mechanism, as and for the purposes described.

9. In a nail-driving machine in combination with a vertically-reciprocatin g driver, a horizontally-reciprocating carriage moving ina path across the line of motion of said driver and having yielding jaws normally in contact an d adapted to receive and hold the nail to be driven and carry it under the driver and hold it thereunder during the driving operation and to be opened laterally by the driver as the carriage starts on its return movement while the driver is still. in its lowered position, and means for clamping said jaws while said carriage is in its nail-receiving position as set forth.

10. In a wire'nail making and driving machine, in combination with a nail-making mechanism, a carriage adapted to receive and hold the nail-blank end of the wire, and provided with heading-dies adapted to cooperate with said nail-making mechanism to shape the head of the nail, and to carry the nail under the driver, a driver and a throat located below said carriage and in line with said driver and having a yielding side normally closing the throat, whereby the nail will be held in a predetermined position from the time it is cut oif from the wire till it is driven into the shoe, as set forth.

11. In a nailing-machine a nail-driving mechanism and ahorizontally-reciprocating carriage and means whereby it may be recip rocated, said carriage being adapted to carry a nail to be driven and having two or more sets of yielding nailholding devices located one below the other, the upper set being adapted to cooperate with the nail-heading mechanism to make the head and to receive and hold the head when made, and the lower set to receive and center the lower portion of the nail, in combination with mechanism for making nails of different lengths located to feed the nail-blank to the said carriage and make and detach it while therein whereby nails of varying lengths will be made and will be gripped by said yielding nail-holding devices throughout substantially their entire lengths during the nail-making operation and nail-driving operation, all substantially as set forth.

12. In a nail making and driving machine,in combination with a variable nail-feed having a reciprocating slide connected therewith and adapted to operate said feed, means for determining the length of said feed, said means consisting of a work-support, a stop connected therewith in the mannerdescribed whereby each movement of said work-support will produce a corresponding movement of said stop, said stop consisting of a triangular piece mounted in ways carried by the frame of the machine, said ways being at an angle with a vertical lin e running through the machine and said stop lying in the rearward path of said slide, as and for the purposes set forth.

13. In a nail making and driving machine having a yielding wor z-support, a wire-feed consisting of a feed-roll and means for clamping the wire against it, means for moving said roll comprising a horizontal slide and a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism connecting said slide with said roll, the rear end of said slide carrying a tailpiece projecting downward below the level of said slide, substantially as described in combination with a verticallymovable adjustable stop connected with said work-support and adapted to be operated thereby and located below said slide to engage said tailpiece, as and for the purposes described.

14. In a nailing-machine, a feed-roll support consisting of a plate carrying said feedroll at its lower end and pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine, its upper end being forked, one fork thereof bearing against a suitable stop on the machine, the other fork carrying a scparating-lever of substantially the kind described, all as set forth.

15. In a machine of the kind described a wire-feed, a reciprocating carriage adapted to receive the end of the wire from which the nail is to be made and provided with yielding dies normally closed to form the head for the nail, gripping and head-forming jaws adapted to grip and force a portion of the wire downward into said dies to form said 

